Somehow
by chaletfan
Summary: Xander & Faith. London. An attempted kidnapping. You know when somebody tries to kidnap these two, it's not gonna go well. There's violence, retribution and R rated content. And there's two people doing what they do best.
1. Chapter 1

"Somehow," said Xander Harris with a slight look of confusion on his face, "I have ended up acting as a career counsellor for the disenfranchised Slayer youth. "

"You're a counsellor? We trying to get rid of the kids now?" Faith. Blunt and to the point. Like always. She stared at the door he was holding open for her. "Dude, you know I've got hands right?"

"I do," said Xander. "Did. I mean, do. Yes, with the hands you have. Hmmm." He flushed and pushed his hands back in to his pockets as they left the cafe. God. She always did this. Made him so flustered. So much history between them and yet she still had the ability to make him babble like a fool.

Faith caught up with him, cutting in front, catching his eye with a wicked little wink of her own. Her amusement was obvious. "We could go again sometime?"

"Maybe not here though?" Xander got a little bit redder. "I mean, I, you," a cough, "Um London?"

She tilted her head towards the crowds flowing past the two of them as they stood there, and smiled, "They can get in line."

"Long line," said Xander.

"I'm worth it."

"I don't doubt," and then he paused and gestured at his mouth, making stitching gestures with my hand, "This – shut. Talking – stops now."

Faith stopped at the side of the road, her eyes scanning for a taxi. "Giles has a theory about you. He said you had eutra - eutrapelia or something."

"I do not. Wait. What is it? I still can't work out whether he's complimenting or hating."

"Something Greek. And don't worry. He won't compliment you. Not unless he's near death. Or suffering from rabies" said Faith, "To be honest, I kinda filter a lot the dude says. Unless he's praising me. Then I'm all ears."

"Literally? Cos did I tell you we had one of the Brazilian girls infected by that ear demon and Will had to spell her clean and it all got a little waxy icky-" A finger suddenly rested on his lips. It was Faith. He stopped; her touch burning him to the core. The closest he'd been to a woman for a long time. Even with living in Casa Del Estrogen, the sudden intimacy made his catch his breath and count to ten.

"Shush," she said, "And get in." She removed her finger from his lips and pointed at the taxi.

So Xander got in. Folded his legs up in the corner and watched as this Goddess climbed in behind him. "Oxford Street," said Faith, crouching forward and speaking through the small window panel through the driver.

"Oxford Street?" He raised an eyebrow as she sat back down beside him. "Giles does remember we're supposed to be S to the E to the Cret?"

"Oh my god, are you purposefully channeling the nineties? G knows what he's doing." There was no question in her mind that Giles knew what he was doing. She would follow him to the end of the earth. And had. That had been a fun trip. Emphasis on the trip. Giles and her had both taken the blue pill and fallen through the gaps of the world, trying to stop yet another apocalypse. And the funny thing was that she now knew their world really just did stop. At a line. That's all it was that marked the end of their world and the beginning of the nest. A line drawn in the sand and a row of demons waiting at the other side like kids at an all you can eat buffet.

"But Oxford Street?"

His voice, his plaintive anchor of reality, pulled her back to the now. "Maybe he wants to get in some shopping, I don't know, what am I, his secretary?"

Xander waggled his finger at her. "Made you rise," he said, "One nil to me."

"Next time I am asking for Willow. Or Kennedy. Or even that redheaded Scottish kid. I mean, great hair, just couldn't understand a word she said. Kind of a mark in her favour now I think about it."

He beamed at her. "You love me."

"You drive me nuts," she replied, "I ask for help and I get you? It's as if the world hates me."

"It loves you," he said, "The world luurrrrvvves you."

"Stop that. Stop that now." She glared at him.

The taxi squealed around the corner and they slid into the centre of the seat, impacting heavily into each other. "Hey!" cried Faith, "Easy on the Dukes of Hazzard!"

"Easy sweetie," said Xander, "Buckle up." He jammed the seatbelt around Faith's waist and clicked her in before she'd even noticed what he was doing, and then pressed his face to hers, his mouth just seconds away from hers.

"Wanna go?" she murmured, "Right here right now?"

"Shut up," he said, keeping his voice low. "Something's wrong Brainiac. We're going out of town. I just saw a sign for The North. And even I know that Oxford Street is fairly not north. Mind you I only know this from all the shopping talk. Of the girls. " A sudden look of concern in his eyes. "I mean it is right? Or is it all some elaborate sham? Is Harry Potter cinema verité and London just a tiny village with one road?"

"You watch Harry Potter?"

"Watched and not from choice. Hermione's no Zatanna I'll have you know." He peeled himself away from Faith and sat back down in his seat, twisting his body slightly to face her. His hand stretched out to grab hers and, picking up on his cues, she grasped it tightly. The small wince of pain on his face made her loosen her grip.

"Hey, Mr," she called, "We a long way aways? My boy here's not feeling too well. " No response. Just the revving of an accelerator pedal being pressed and the car speeding up.

Xander glared at her as the houses fluid-slipped by. They were on a road out of town, that much was certain. The press of crowds he associated so vividly with London were thinning and there were less cars on the road. The busiest city in the world and yet they were almost out of it.

She raised an eyebrow. "Shut up or I'll tell him you've got the shits." Then, louder, "Hey Mr? Hey? Excuse me?"

No response. Just the hunching of the back of somebody deliberately ignoring them.

"Can you drive stick?" said Faith.

The car swung left and Xander took a quick glance out of the window. Countryside. Already. Damn this boy was quick. One thing was certain, they weren't in Kansas anymore.

Businesslike. "I'll pick it up." He nodded at her. Ready. Trusting.

"Good," she said and then she very quietly unclicked her seatbelt and began to slide down onto the floor. Xander watched with quiet amusement as she slithered off the seat and inched her way forward.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "What? It's been a while since I've had to break out of a car."

"Bad girl," he murmured, and then flung a hand over his eyes as Faith snaked up from the car floor and very calmly punched her way through the barrier.

The taxi heeled to the side as the driver reacted, flinging his body sideways and trying to turn to see Faith but he was too late. Faith cracked an elbow into his face and then, as the driver lost conciousness, grabbed his shoulders and began to heave him backwards. "Get in there already," she snapped at Xander, who hurled himself forward and stretched for the wheel, and then hung there, half way between front and back seats, caught in the narrowness of the gap between the seats.

"You need to god damn well diet." Faith dropped a half-kick behind her, not even looking, as the driver dropped onto the floor in a heavy heap. She pivoted, half-crouched and then pushed Xander through the rest of the gap, all in one fluid motion.

"Christmas weight," snapped Xander, "Don't judge me!" His hands were scrabbling for grip on the wheel as it span wildly. He didn't even want to look at the view outside and the inevitable truck they would be trying to get underneath. It was a miracle they'd not crashed into somebody and he was suddenly wildly thankful for them having escaped the centre of London. His fingers tightened as he gained purchase on the rubber grip and he managed to wrench the wheel sideways. At the same time his foot slammed on the brake, and his whole body turned, physically pulling the car away from making friends with the local flora and fauna. A long deep breath escaped him as the car finally came under his control.

Faith slipped over into the seat beside him, her long body folding with much more elegance than he could ever hope to achieve. He expertly changed gear and glanced at her. She raised an eyebrow. "So," she said, as laconic as ever, "We gonna figure out why the Hulk wanted to kidnap us?"

"Yes," said Xander, and the thrill of the life he led bubbled up inside of him. "Oh yes. Yes we will." And then, as reality hit him and the inevitability that things were always worse than he ever thought they would be, he added: "Somehow."


	2. Chapter 2

"We need to get lost," said Faith. The driver gave an awkward moan and she glanced back at him. "Jonah here's gonna wake and I don't want to have to go all Bourne on his ass again. Need to find a place to dump him. Need to get lost."

"Technically," replied Xander, with great politeness and calm as he navigated a roundabout which was threatening to give him a hernia, "We already are."

"Huh?" She glanced out of the window. "Ah." A deep breath. "Shit."

"Yuh-huh." He made a sudden decision and swung left, taking them onto a lane, overhung by long fronds of weeping willow. "More mud," he explained, "Less clean means less traffic."

"Smart." The driver made another noise. Faith looked back at him and then Xander. "Stop somewhere secluded and stop there soon alright? He's not gonna stay silent for long."

Xander floored the car and followed the winding lane deeper into the countryside. Houses were scattered in the distance but they were getting few and far between. "Oxford?" His jaw dropped. "Oxford? That did say Oxford didn't it?"

"Shit," said Faith again, "We're miles away. G will be going nuts. Where the hell was he taking us?" She stared at the driver. He was the hired help. Nothing more. But that almost offended her more than somebody trying to kidnap a Slayer and her boytoy. Her face crinkled into a small amused smile. Boytoy. Huh. So that was how she felt about him. Wasn't even sure she even felt anything for him til now. Bizarre.

"I doubt Giles will be going nuts. He'll be pursing his lips and maybe doing a little glasses cleaning if he's really pissed."

"Wow, you're totally a closet bitch. I like it."

Xander caught sight of a gate at the side of the road. It was set back a little, mud and overgrowth in front of it, and an immense puddle right in the centre. Perfect. He pulled the car over, carefully parking right in the middle of the puddle.

"You couldn't have chosen somewhere classier?"

"Well if you'd have paid your deposit on time, Miss, I wouldn't be forced to put you in the room without a sea view." He flung the door open and made a long leg over the water, pulling himself out of the car, before walking to the back. "We won't leave tracks in the mud. When you're ready?"

Faith followed him out of the car and the two of them stood there, taking a long comfortable look at the driver. "We gonna question him?"

"Gonna try. Get him out."

Faith bobbed her head into the cab and grasped the driver by the nearest limb. A a heavy thud as he bounced out of the seat and splashed into the puddle. Faith took a dark glance at Xander. "Puddle. Right. Brilliant plan."

"Put them on expenses."

"We have expenses?"

"Yes but nobody ever wanted to tell you." He ignored her look of annoyance and crouched down in front of the driver. "Hey. Numbnuts."

"I've reformed," muttered Faith, "I am the definition of approachable." She smacked the driver round the face. "Come on. Wake up already."

"Yep, definining it right there. Could you maybe tie his hands and feet together so when he does come around he doesn't try to hulk out?"

"And where's this rope coming from? You pulling it outta your ar-"

"We're wearing belts genius. And, just a quick FYI, I am never being partnered with you again."

"Shuttup Hooch." Faith swiftly unlooped her belt and snapped the leather around the drivers wrists, wrapping it three times before hooking it closed. She grabbed Xander's belt , "Lift his feet," and then tied the guys ankles together. No way he was going anywhere. She was good with tying people up. Way good. Kinkily good. It was a skill she was most proud of.

"Fuck you," mumbled the driver as he finally came to.

"Gotta say sounds so much more threatening when you really enunciate the words," said Xander mildly, "Just a little hint for the future."

The driver took a deep breath. "Fuck. You."

"Much better."

"You wanna make him tea?"

"Is that like some street slang yo?"

The driver glanced with confusion between the pair of them. Finally he sighed. "You two? I get my ass kicked by you two?"

"Easy as."

"I helped."

"A little."

"Oh yeah, the little of 'not letting the car actually crash'."

"Maybe more than a little." Lightening swift, she turned to the driver. "Who you working for?"

"Nobody."

"Liar."

"Liar, pants on fire."

"You've been in Britain too long."

"My sudden longing for tea makes me agree with you."

"So why you here?"

Silence.

A punch aimed directly at his stomach that made his breath rip out into the still air between them. "Sent. I was sent!"

"Sent?" A quick glance to Xander. "He did say Sent right? And dude, next time aim more for his liver okay?"

"I will and he did," agreed Xander. He rubbed the impact off his knuckles. Stared impassively at the driver.

"Huh. So saying sent sort of suggests that there's somebody else driving this car. Piloting this plane. You're just the hired help."

"Wow," said the driver, "Here's me thinking I was sent to get the dumb blonde one."

"Oh she's a natural blonde," offered Xander. "Really – this – it's all dye." He turned to Faith, "Search the car."

She nodded. Opened the front door and surveyed the car carefully. "Just, y'know, fyi, the next time you diss my hair, we go down the route of discussing your dress sense."

"It's a deal."

The driver stared at the two of them. "There's nothing there!" There blatantly was something there. They all knew there was.

Faith called out from inside the car, "Gag him already?"

"Already on it." Xander pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and looked apologetically at the driver as he gagged him. He didn't know it but there was something about his everyday attitude to the events currently taking place that was highly disturbing to the driver. He'd seen people freak, people flip, people turn on him, but he'd never had a cargo that so quickly, quietly and efficiently demolished him. These people weren't normal. His battered and bruised body bore testament to that.

"You've got something." It wasn't a question. He knew her. Every fibre of her body was suddenly alive with a spark that spoke of action. He'd seen it before. That indefinable Slayer 'thing'. Knew it meant something happening and that something happening soon.

She nodded, her eyes bright as she unwound from inside. "Oh yeah. I got something."


	3. Chapter 3

"It's a sandwich." Xander looked at her and felt his jaw drop. "You forget to have your lunch or something?" His life didn't have many moments when he felt like the normal one but this was one to savour.

Faith looked at him and rolled her eyes very very slightly. Dropped the sandwich on the floor and very deliberately ground her heel into it. Breadcrumbs bled into mud. Something told him to look up. Her hand. Slightly open. And a piece of paper inside.

"You're an idiot," he said lightly, "Always have been" and he smiled at her. Told her he'd seen it. Her hand closed. Message received and understood. Their shorthand working as strong as it ever had.

"Takes one to know one."

"Should get back to the G," he said, "Don't want to keep him waiting." He bent down to the driver. "We'll leave the cab somewhere you get a lot of tickets okay?" There was an annoyed grunt. "You're a good man, you know that?"

"Drive already," said Faith, sliding herself into the other side of the taxi. Xander pressed down on the accelerator, feeling the car gather beneath him before easing out of the puddle. He glanced back in the mirror to see the driver topple backwards into the puddle. "Nice," he said, suddenly pleased with him. Glancing at Faith as he turned the taxi back onto a busy road, "You're not an idiot."

"I know," she said, gloriously smug.

It would have killed him not to burst that bubble. He bowed to the inevitability. Waited a few seconds to really enjoy the moment. "Your hair is still dyed though right?"

"Shut up," she said. She was grinning despite herself. Damnit. Something about him just did that to her. Pushed past her defences and made her technicolour inside.

"You punch like a girl."

"Wanna test?"

"Whoah, not saying that." He backpedalled rapidly. "Stopping the grief-giving right now boss."

"I like it when you call me boss."

"Stop it now." And then, suddenly, sharp, shouting, her whole body screaming with shock: "No STOP!"

A woman. Stood in the road. Pure white skin. Jet black hair. Not moving. Staring right at them. And god but she wasn't moving what the hell oh my god oh god oh god why wasn't she moving-

Xander slammed his foot down on the brake. The taxi bucked underneath him as it slid sideways, locked into a skid. He twisted the wheel into it and floored the accelerator, pushing it forward and out of the skid and mentally praising his hours of playing driving games. There was a sudden eruption of blue-aired swearing, and he realized that this was Faith. He didn't have time to speak. Not now. Not until the mission was over. He would not die this day. Not in some damn strange country where they didn't even know the right word for sidewalk.

And then, when he had forced the car to obey him, and acknowledged the wild beating of his heart, he looked in the mirror, looked at the part of the road where he had seen the woman, the woman who had started all of this.

But there was nobody there.

"What the hell just happened?" He twisted, looking behind them, "Hey, you saw that right? I mean, I'm presuming you did what with the screaming of the STOP and everything but WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?"

"-Christ what the hell?"

They shared a long look of confusion and took comfort in the solid reality of each other. She touched his arm wonderingly. "Well you're real. And I'm not dead. And neither's she."

"Whoever _she _was."

"Ghost?"

"I guess."

"You know if she was, that means I can't mock ghosts anymore. Ghosts always seemed like the losers of the supernatural y'know?"

"Maybe she was an apparition."

"S'nother word for ghost."

"I knew that. Know something else too." He raised an eyebrow at her. Her answer was dark, coldly furious and incisive. "We're being played. Somebody wants us out the picture." She pulled her phone out of her pocket and jabbed a few numbers in. "G? Faith. Me and Xand, we're gonna be late. As in DIY G Dog you're on your own. We'll make our own way. Yep. Sounds like. K. Bye."

"Pissed?"

"Not really. Think he kinda 'spects it off me now. Got him trained well."

"And yet, he's still not booked you in for those elocution lessons."

"Bite me." Economical. To the point. And she knew damn well he understood her. "Drive already, we're making a scene."

"You gotta destination in mind?"

"Always." She smiled and showed him the piece of paper she had found inside the cab. "Seems our genius kidnapper wrote down where he was meant to be taking us. Seems ghost not roadkill lady wants us not to get there. So I say we go. Go hard."

He loved her. He suddenly really really loved her. The way her hair curled onto the glorious smoothness of her skin. The way her neck curved and the way her eyes sparkled in the sunlight. He blinked. Brought himself back to the now. "Gonna spill?"

Faith rolled her eyes. "Like you have a clue where it is if I did." She pulled out her phone. "I do totally have satnav."

"I love it that we've gone all high-tech, y'know, makes me feel vaguely in control of the abnormalcy that is my life."

She jabbed the address in to her phone and suddenly a calm, robotic voice spoke: "Take the next left."

"Nice," he said, "Does it come in perky?" He swung the car left and was vaguely aware that they were driving back into town. "Tell me where we're going?"

"Christmas must have killed you."

"One year that was almost technically true."

"Poor baby."

"Sweet talker."

"You don't know the half of it."

"I'd like to." Whoah. He did not just say that. He bit his lip and decided to take the conversation in a new direction. One that didn't involve the emotional heart-spilling and the foot in mouth moments. "Tell me where we're going?"

"Alright," she said, and picked up the piece of paper, carefully unfolding it and reading the jagged tight writing, "Carfax Manor, Purfleet."

And when he heard those words, Xander wished he'd never asked.


	4. Chapter 4

It took a long while for him to speak. She knew that was a bad thing. Silence and him weren't the best of friends. Like chalk and cheese. Didn't go. Didn't work. He was the boy that threw his words back at the evil. Not the one who stood there and cowered like a quiet thing.

"Hey," she said, "Talk to me."

The cab swung back into the left hand lane, his eyes flicking up as yet another lorry passed them. "Busy."

"Not caring about that. Tell me why you dropped a load when I told you where we're goin'." Not a question. An order. She needed to know whatever it was that made him all newb. Cos if he pulled that kind of shit in the field, he'd be dead. Not something she wanted to deal with.

"Did Buffy ever?" He paused.

"You're gonna have to finish the sentence dude."

"She ever tell you about Dracula?"

Faith whistled. "Drac? Really? You met him?"

"Take that as a no."

She could almost see him flashing back. There was more to this than them having met some famous dude. Although she was kinda pissed nobody had ever thought it worth mentioning to her. Save it. Enough time to bitchslap the others. Deal with the now. Deal with Xander. Bring him back. "So tell me already."

"Defeated him. But he – he – Renfield – he did me like he did him. I – I got caught. He had some mojo on me. They – they-"

"Who they?"

"The guys. Buffy and – and Will – and Dawn-" A swallow. "They don't – they didn't get it. Like – I'm not sure I under-understand it but – just – um - imagine it – somebody takes up residence inside you. Somebody who makes you do things you'd never want to do. And you can't stop them. And the worst thing is you don't want to."

Each word he spoke felt like one she could have spoken several years earlier. Like he was describing her. God what had this guy done to him? She would kill Dracula. Didn't know why Buffy hadn't. Separate conversation to be had. It would be had. Anybody who made Xander react like this – to take away his love and light and laughter – they needed to die. She was comfortable with that. And she would make them suffer.

He looked straight ahead. They were on a busy motorway and it felt like they were the only two people in the world. "It's like you're blind – and can't feel – and this – this thing inside you is You but nobody notices that it isn't. You're – you're trapped. Imprisoned. It was – I hate – god. He made me evil. I don't – I don't want to go back to that Faith. I'll – I'll kill him. Or – or myself. I can't – just -" He ran out of words. A rarity for him but he did. The words just stopped coming and he silent-spoke into the air, and realized there were tears coming down his face.

Eventually Faith spoke. Three words. All she needed. All she could say. "I get it."

And she did. He knew that she did. Knew that out of all of the scoobies, she was the only one who would understand what he had gone through. She was the only one who would ever understand.

Hills rolled by, green and lush, the undergrowth flaring into vision and then whipping away, all in one long rolling ribbon of landscape.

"I thought you might," Xander said.

She ignored the sudden warm look of relief he gave her. Knew it would make her heart break if she acknowledged it. "So Carfax? What's the relation?"

"It's his – h-house. God I can't – how the hell do I still know this?" It disgusted him. Even saying the words made him feel sick. Like his mind wasn't his again. The feeling terrified and appalled him. No. Wait. Drive deeper. Own the emotion. Own the fear. That was it. He nodded. Back in control. Owning it. He would kill that son of a bitch.

"I'll kill him. If you want. S'what we do." Hell, it was what they were meant to do. She couldn't get her head around Buffy not killing the freak. Baddest of the bad and she'd given him a free pass? Plus killing Dracula would be way cool. Giles would love it. Probably clean his glasses and everything when she told him.

"I do. Want. I just – I don't feel free. Like he wants something from me now and here I am, driving all the way to meet him. Not right. Damnit." He didn't see the good out of this. Nothing about it spoke of the happy. But they had to go. Sometimes his life spiraled out of his control and all he could do was follow. And if it led to Dracula, the one vampire who hadn't wanted to kill him but to use him like a puppet, then yeah he could handle. Because this time he was ready.

"So what's with the ghost girl?"

"A sign. He's got magic. Obviously didn't want us to get away."

"Or live."

"Well, that as well."


	5. Chapter 5

He drove the last few miles carefully, his eyes flicking between the petrol guage and the road ahead. "I think we're gonna have to find our own way back."

"Yeah?" Faith leant over and stared at the dashboard. "K. Perhaps we can boost one of the sumbitches cars. I'm guessing he's got more than one."

Xander nodded. "He doesn't travel light."

"Wait, let me check, nobody's ever thought about dusting this guy? Doesn't sound like he's anywhere near subtle." She just couldn't compute why Buffy had let him live. And then, a thought struck her. Blondie liked vampires a lot more than any respectable Slayer should do. And she, y'know, _liked _Vampires. Truth. Girl was messed up. No doubt. Whose to say she hadn't done the down and dirty with Drac? Faith felt her jaw drop. That was totally it. Buffy and Dracula had been boinking. Partners in the horizontal foxtrot. She had one word for that. Fucked up. Huh. She grinned. Maybe two words. And god, they called her the messed up one. She was so Sound of Music compared to Buffy I'll Boink Them Then I'll Kill Them Summers.

" The last time he came up on our radar, he was back at his castle. Theory was he was contained." Theory. Life built on theory that fell through in practice.

She rolled her eyes. "Look s like he flunked the theory." Was it just her? Was she the only one who saw it? Why the hell had they let him live? Why the hell had Buffy not done the whole Slayer Prime Directive?

"Looks like." And that made him angry. The containment procedures they'd set in place had contained squat. Made him feel like an amateur. Made him feel like what he said meant for nothing. It was a feeling he really didn't like. Made him feel like asking-questions-of-himself-that-shouldn't-be-asked.

Faith decided to bite the bullet. And cos it was her, she bit it hard. "I don't get it. Why not kill him when you have the chance? Is this what we do now? Take a promise to be good and call back with some promotional literature and sign you up to the ten step programme?" Her attention wind-shifted. "Left already, dude, take the next left. We're almost there."

Xander didn't answer. Truth be told he didn't think he could. There wasn't anything he could really say because he agreed with her. Dracula had messed up his mind and he'd never ever told anybody until now just how much that had affected him. Faith. The truth-bringer. She made him speak things that he didn't think he'd ever say.

"Love it," said Faith, her attention drawn to the tiny thatched cottages that packed the side of the high street. "It's like Wizard of Oz or something."

He raised an eyebrow at her, driving the cab past some old people who had just decided to stop in the middle of the road. "You have the attention span of a goldfish. Look a pebble! Look a pebble!"

"Look, my fist, look your face, it's like they're meant to be together." She paused, her knuckles mere moments from his cheek, and rested her arm on his shoulder. "Or more to the point, Xand, my man, look at that hill and that way spooky not at all chocolate boxy house." Unconciously her hand unfurled and a finger, one solitary finger rested on his face. "See, I'm gonna put two and two together and guess our nasty lives up there?"

Xander didn't hear a word of this. Just felt his whole body yearning for more of that touch. Feather-light. Heart beating. Mind racing.

A car horn beeped behind them and he pulled himself out of his fantasy to realise they were going about fifteen miles an hour. Whatever that meant. Presumably slow. He pulled the cab over and stopped on the side of the road and ignored the torrent of abuse as they were overtaken.

"I'm hungry," said Faith suddenly. And she was. Her stomach growled in anticipation of chips. God she loved chips. Not the stupid little thin French fries she was used to. Chips. Big fat greasy stodgy carb laden chips. Oh. She wanted chips right now. Her head swiveled, looking for a takeaway. Problem was looked like they were in PrissyTown and the nearest thing she could see to a chippy looked like a café full of death and doilies. And, worst of all, she had no cash. She could almost see the chips marching down the high street away from her. It was like McDonalds had sponsored Fantasia.

Xander groaned. "You're such a child. Do you need the toilet as well?"

"Went before somebody tried to kidnap me so I'm good thanks." Her attention flitted back to the mansion as she tried to ignore the dancing chips. "So is it true then? His shtick? Psychic? Wolf?"

He rolled his eyes and took a long deep breath. "I can't keep up with you. Please for the sake of my sanity, stay on one subject?"

"Okay. I want food. Then I want sex-" A sudden sharp noise of surprise from Xander stopped her briefly. She smiled at him and continued, "Sex. I want to have sex with you."

Silence. Of the loudest sort. She very deliberately kept looking at him. Right at him. Right at where his eyes were trying to avoid hers.

Eventually: "What?" He turned the engine off and let the silence grow louder.

"Sex. I fight. I might die. I want to have sex before I go."

"You're not gonna die-"

"Might do."

"Way with the positivity."

"It's just sex, Xand."

"Oh my god this isn't happening."

"It's been a while, I know. I'll be gentle."

"No, it's not – the gentle – sometimes – rough – NO!" He flushed and pulled away from her, grabbing the keys and hurling himself out of the cab. Faith slinked out behind him, carefully herding him towards the café. "We could go-"

"What is it with you and sex in public places?"

God. She could smell the café now. Screw the old people. Just give her something carby and sugary and the potential of having seconds, that would do. Forget the chips. Cake. Oh GOD CAKE. Her mouth was almost watering.

Xander looked at her. "You're red. And looking weird. Er than normal."

"I'm horny."

"And suddenly I wish I hadn't spoken." He glanced left and right, waiting for an appropriate pause. Faith fixed her eyes on a slice of chocolate cake that practically had her name on it. "Chocolate," said Xander with great relief, "I hear it's apparently like sex. I can give you chocolate?"

Finally! Her stomach almost collapsed with relief. She turned a dazzling smile on him; a smile that made him reconsider his morals. "So no sex?"

"Maybe later. If you're a good girl." Whoah Nellie, screamed his brain and eventually his mouth paid attention. "But now," he said, hurrying to cover his tracks, "I can provide cake. On expenses. God bless the expenses account."

"Deal," said Faith, satisfied with the smooth execution of her plan. She span on her heels and marched straight inside the café, "Gotta get me one of those expenses things."

"Never gonna happen," said Xander. "Never gonna happen." It really wouldn't. He was taking Faith off the waiting list ASAFREAKINGP.


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

He smiled winningly at the waitress who looked old enough to be his mom. Twice. "Hi. We're American. California. Sunshine. We don't get darkness. Unlike the big old house on the hill over there. Can we visit? Is it open? DO they like guests? Of the heart-beating kind?"

Faith glanced over at him as she finished her final slice of chocolate cake and then she looked up at the waitress. "Yeah, so, Dracula lives there right?" The waitress looked at her with mild confusion before shaking her head and walking away.

Xander kicked Faith under the table. Hard. "What is it with you? God get your head in the game already."

"I'm gonna pretend you're not getting all prissy on me, and I'm gonna pretend even harder you didn't just kick me. You fight like a girl." Faith placed the weird little fork-knife thing (Fife? Kork?) back on the table and glared at him. "What's your problem?"

"You," he said. Blunt. Angry. Abruptly shifting from apparent calm to raging fuy for reasons he couldn't quite verbalise.

"What about me?" said Faith, noting the obvious shift in his emotion. She remembered the tedious nature of her rehabilitation. Validating other people's emotions really fried her ass sometimes. She fixed an interested yet neutral look on her face.

He suddenly had a wild wild urge to stab her in the heart. To snatch the fork-knife (what the hell was up with this land of crazy cutlery?) away from her and then thrust it deep and hard into her chest. His head pounded. Blood. All he could see was blood. Hers. Everywhere. And the weird thing was how happy it made him feel.

"Xander," she said, "Xander," and it was as if her voice was coming from miles away. As if it was miles away and she was lost in a forest and she just wanted him to find her and kill her and –

Faith stood up. Leant over the table. She grasped his collar and pulled him towards her. A staff member raced towards them, her concern evident: "Take it outside! Not here!" And then a pause. "But could you pay?"

Xander and Faith paused, frozen in some awkward tableau. "Can't you see we're in the middle of something?" spat Xander, ripping his wallet out and flinging notes at the girl. "Here! Take it!"

Faith rolled her eyes. "He loves the drama."

The woman backed away.

"I will kill you," whispered Xander under his breath. His top lip curled. He could feel his whole body radiating tension. Only the shocked presence of the other café customers held him back from hurling himself at Faith.

Who just looked at him. "I'd like to see you try," she spat as she unfurled her grip on him and marched outside.

He walked after her. "Don't go away from me bit-"

And then he stopped.

And blinked.

"Huh." He swallowed. Loudly. "What just happened?" He scrubbed his hand across his face and stared at Faith, finally seeing her clearly. And the thing that gave him the greatest sense of relief was that Faith was looking right back at him with a similar expression.

"Huh," she said. "So. Long range mind control. Shoulda got that. What with my major craving for cake and being nowhere near dropping the big P and all. Well. That's a thing. Gonna kill him a little bit harder now. That okay with you? If you're busy not killing me that is."

"I don't want to kill you." He suddenly needed to make that clear. "Far from it. I – I – " And then he stopped. Enough talking. Time to act. He touched her hand. "Faith?" His voice was so so soft. Nervous. Raw.

She felt a lump come to her throat as she locked eyes with him and saw everything about this boy that kept drawing her back to him.

Faces of the café customers pressed up against the windows. Heads, framed in lace, watched the two foreigners, the two crazy yanks, take a slow faltering step towards each other. The owner rested her hand on the phone, ready to dial for police or fire or whatever was needed. "Drugs," she said, to nobody in particular.

Outside, all Faith could hear, all she could see was Xander. She bit her lip. "Xand-" she said, "Oh god," and then she stepped forward, and they fitted together, they fitted together like they were never meant to be apart. It all felt so right. So so right. And then her lips were on his, and her arms were holding him and he was holding her and everything just got that little bit righter.


	7. Chapter 7

"You've got better." Faith pulled herself away from him.

"We judge each other now?" He raised an eyebrow. "Is that how it works?"

"Oh yes," she said.

He shrugged. "I'll deal." He grinned. "I'll Definitely Deal." A pause. "Although your technique kinda literally sucks."

"What?"

"No, it does. Sorry to be the one to break this to you, Slayer, but you're a little sloppy."

"Sloppy?"

It amused him so much to see her stuck for words. This was quite possibly the summit of their relationship, right there, right now. He decided to savour the moment. "I can give you a few pointers." And there it was. Right there. The sort of dumbstruck silence that meant he'd made a hit.

Faith shook herself back to life. "We'll go again. Right now." She pushed herself into him with a sudden lust that took her by surprise. The second kiss was better. If that was even possible, it was better. It just all felt so right.

They peeled apart; breathless and smiling and shy half-cut glances at each other when they thought they couldn't be seen. "So," said Xander eventually.

"So."

"Slaying?"

"Yup."

They communicated in a shorthand that spoke of their experiences together. He kinda loved that. That when they fell into silence, it wasn't because they were fighting, wasn't because they'd run out of things to say; it was just that silence sometimes said more than words when you were with the right person.

Faith jerked her head towards the cab. "I have an urging to go make a call," she said.

"Wait, is that like some hip way to say you want to take a crap? Cos I wanna stay down with the kids and if that's how they're saying it…"

"You are a total embarrassment to me." She walked towards the vehicle, ignoring his amused glances. "I try to teach you something new and all I get is grief and You Have The Keys Dumb Ass Why Are You Not Unlocking It Already?"

"Am. Just did." He smiled at her. "Or is my manly manliness just too distracting?"

"Loser."

Xander slid into the driver's seat. "Harlot."

"Don't you know it."

The engine spluttered and distracted him from the "Petrol. Gonna be an ish."

"I bet Dracula's got a magic carpet."

"That's Aladdin, Bolognese for brains." He glanced across at her. "Say, did you pack it this morning?"

"Pack what?" The scenery slowly changed as they drove up the hill from the twee chocolate box postcard of the village to a weird emptiness. Faith stared out of the window. "You see that?"

"What?"

"Nothing. 'smy point."

"Nope, wait I saw something. Yep the conversational cliché just floated right on by."

"I'll leave you here. Blondie'll bitch but what's new. Giles'll give me a freaking trophy. Red might give me a bit of gyp but hey, I'll deal. Be worth it in the long run."

He turned left and then they saw it. Properly. Carfax. A pair of wrought iron gates blocking the road. An immense folly of a mansion at the end of a lane framed in poplar trees. Beautiful to the average onlooker. Just one of the many stately homes that dotted the English countryside. Xander felt his stomach turn at the sight of it.

"Ready?"

"No." He really wasn't.

"Too late chicken little. Because I kinda think we're expected." The gates swung open. She kinda wanted to go Ooooh. It felt like the sort of moment that needed a sound effect. "Why is this reminding me of a Skinemax spesh?"

"I do not want to know about your viewing habits." He didn't want to know about anything at that moment. His senses were suddenly screaming at him. The cab inched forward and he folded over the wheel; hunched, tense and scared.

They exited the tree tunnel and came to the front of the house. Shadows stretched across the gravel and Xander felt his legs refuse to move. Faith turned to him, cupped her hand around his face and kissed him. So soft. But it burnt with life. Pulled him back from the precipice. "You're with me. And you need to remember something 'bout that."

"Which is?" He didn't want to let her go. Didn't want to open the door and accept his fate. Just wanted to turn around with his hard-won woman and drive off into the sunset.

" I'm the Slayer that doesn't die."

Xander's jaw dropped as he watched Faith get out of the door, march up to the front door and ring it "FAITH!" He couldn't let her do this by himself. His life had been about forcing himself to stand side by side with the powerhouses he lived with. Couldn't stop now. Wouldn't. He was there beside her before he realized and their hands wrapped together and he took her strength and made it his own. She grinned and banged on the door again: "Honey we're home!"

And then he saw him. The white still face of Dracula that had haunted his dreams all these years.

"Hello servant," said the Count. "Will you not come in?"

And god damn him if his feet didn't move towards the vampire.

And god damn him but that was the stupidest move he'd ever pulled. Cos Dracula whip-wraithed his arm around his throat and pulled him close. "I have missed you," he hissed, "Oh How I Have Missed You."

Faith looked at Xander, looked at Dracula and then looked back at him. It was, thought Xander as he tried to remember his rational side, one of the best comedy double takes he'd ever witnessed: "Wait, hold the phone."

Dracula released the grip around his throat enough to allow him to talk. Didn't seem like the big guy was up for the conversation just yet. Xander took charge. Looking after Master. Damnit. His brain chided him and he forced himself to focus on Faith. "There's no phone sweetie."

"Metaphor."

"Concept."

"Bite me."

"In present company?"

"Oh I'm sure your LOVER won't mind."

"WHAT THE FU-"

"Seriously I could cut the GAY SEXUAL NOT-QUITE-UNDER-AND-REALLY-KINDA-OVER-TONES with a freaking knife. Xand, dude, you never told me he was gay."

"I am Not Gay."

"Really?" She hand-hipped Dracula, "So why on earth are you not turning Robin here into crunchy toast?"

"He is Amusing to me."

"God get a room already. And, uh, Drac, FYI?"

"FYI?"

Xander looked up at him. Twisted slightly so he was facing the Vampire. "For your information Mas …" GOD DAMN SON OF A BITCH!

Dracula sighed and pushed Xander to the side of the doorway, shifting his attention to Faith. "So Slayer. What do you wish to tell me?"

"All this. All your 'whatever'. All your jazz. All of it means nothing to me. You need to know something?"

Dracula didn't move. His grip around Xander remained rock solid. "And what is that Slayer?"

" Two things really." She produced her stake. Twirled it in her palm. "First thing. My name is Faith. And the second thing? You. Your shtick? All your Woo Fear Me Crap?" She span the stake around so it was point first and threw it at him. "I really don't give a shit."

3


	8. Chapter 8

He caught it. Caught it in his palm, twisted it and threw it right back at her. She matrixed away from it, bending her body right back, feeling the air slice against her skin as the stake bulleted past her. "Oh you stupid son of a bi-"

"If I wanted you dead Slayer," cut in Dracula, "You already would be." He tilted his head. "So. You are The Dark Slayer."

"Faith," said Xander, "It's her name. Use it. She's earned it."

Nobody ever spoke up for her like that and she knew she wouldn't let him die. Not just cos of all the grief she'd get back at HQ. No. She would save him because he did not deserve to die here.

Xander paused. Spat out one more word: "Master." And the weird thing was, the word didn't burn him anymore. Not now he owned it. Amazing things words. Sometimes saying them was the hardest thing. Sometimes saying them of your own volition was even harder. So he said it. Forced it out. Loud. Proud. Taking no more shit. Taking a lesson out of his girls book.

Dracula sighed at the two of them. His eyes still remained on Faith, examining her, drinking in her presence.

"Dude, you're a vampire. You don't breathe. Enough with the heavy panting. Or I'm gonna get you a job on a sex line. You Don't Need To Breathe."

"It is … a … tic."

He ran his eyes over her again and then he did the strangest thing. He just stood there and swayed slightly, his hands lifted to the air, his eyes rolling back in his head. It was as if he'd even forgotten their presence. Or as if he'd worked some crank on the sly. "You … are intoxicating."

"So. Either you want to bone me and Xander, in that case you got me mixed up with the Slayer who does hump Vampires. I'm strictly one for the pulse and the occasional pun. Other option is that you're nuts." Faith raised an eyebrow at Xander as she stage whispered: "I think He's A Bit Crazy."

Xander knew what she was doing. Trying to push Dracula off balance. There was a reason why the fight hadn't happened yet. They were all … measuring each other. Taking stock. And Faith was taking every opportunity to gain ground before she'd even lifted a finger. Devious. He liked it.

Dracula stepped forward in a weirdly formal manner. His shoes crunched against the gravel as he stepped out into the courtyard. There was no fear in him. A strange sort of peace. Xander couldn't figure it out. Dracula gestured up at the sky and at the rapidly darkening clouds. "I am not crazy. I am not the ones who will be trapped on my estate come nightfall." Right on cue a wolf howled.

"Do you get wolves in South East England?" asked Xander with sudden interest.

"More Eastern European," said Dracula. He shrugged. "But I import."

"I'm a Slayer," interrupted Faith, "You know that right? Know what we do Mr Cuckoo Nothing Approaching Erotic Man?"

"Oh yes." He paused. A slow creepy smile crossed his face. "I do enjoy Slayers. I have met them before."

- "Buffy, yeah, doesn't make you special-"

"Girl gets around yo."

-"She was nothing." Dracula lifted his hands back to his mouth and ran one finger over his lips. "She was too … pink. Now I see truth. A real Darkness. A warrior born. Oh My Slayer. Come inside. My dark Slayer. I want to taste you."

"As of a couple of hours back I'm taken, and fyi I swing a lot of ways but it'll be a cold day in hell before I do the horizontal foxtrot with you. What the hell happened to the big damn fight scene?"

"We are getting old," said Dracula smoothly, "And you and I, we are alike. Fighting proves nothing. We will talk."

"Fuck that."

"Pithy."

"To the point too," she said. "Why'd you want us here?"

"You would have come if I asked?"

"Tall scary cliché's gotta point." Xander switched his attention back on Dracula. "Can we fight already?"

"So impatient. " He turned away from Faith, and that pissed her off more than any of the boring preamble had. She cast her eyes around, suddenly fixing on the car and the keys still remaining inside.

Xander felt his mind slip away. No. No. Don't let him take you. But all he could hear was the words of the Vampire. "I have a hold on you my boy. You know it. That is why you came. You will always come when I call. But this time you have brought me a treasure beyond compare. I will repay you."

And then he saw her. His wild brave and brilliant woman. Inching slowly towards the cab. A shadow moving in the twilight. She brought him back to himself. Like always.

"Alright," said Xander, his voice loud and brash. Dracula turned with obvious interest and looked at him. His eyebrows raised. "Yes?"

"Repay me now. I've brought you a Slayer. And a good one too. The second. Can't have the first but she's as good as. So bite me already. Go on. Do it." He tilted his neck at the vampire, "Daddy want a taste?" Somewhere inside him a little bit of dignity died. He couldn't really believe he'd just said that. That was one sentence that would miss the mission report.

Dracula's eyes sparkled. "I would taste you. I will." He snake-charmed closer and Xander saw how his teeth suddenly pointed and lengthened; crystal sharp daggers of pure white. It horrified him but he held it. Held his nerve for a few more seconds.

"You will Serve Me," said Dracula, "And I will be Your King."

"Screw that," snapped Xander and he kneed him right between the legs, pivoting and then following through with a right hook and a little inner fanboy squee of *holy fuck I'm fighting Dracula* he headbutted the Vampire. Dracula span, stunned at the sudden assault and then froze, turning to face the courtyard.

"What do you do?" There was a slight edge to his voice. "What are you doing?"

It was then that Faith drove the cab right over the top of him.


	9. Chapter 9

Xander rolled out of the way, gravel jagging into his skin, and shut his eyes. He still heard it though. A crunch crunch thud and a weird icky squelching. Not pleasant. But so fucking cool.

Faith floored the cab, wheeling it round and pulling up by Xander. The wheels screeched under her less than delicate driving. "Get in."

He got in. Always would.

The roadkill of Dracula shimmered a little and then seemed to evaporate into a low, murky cloud. It hung there, mere moments from the ground. "Do it again," snapped Xander, "Now." Before he reforms.

Faith slammed her foot down on the accelerator and drove through the cloud.

"Again."

Reverse.

"Again."

Forward.

To an innocent onlooker, they looked crazy. Like a learner driver locked in between a battle of the accelerator and the brake, they lurched forward and backward and each time they did it, the foggy thing in the centre of the courtyard got a little bit duller.

"Take it," Faith gestured at the wheel to Xander as she slid out the car. "Go over me if you have to."

He pulled himself over to the drivers seat, his fingers locked around the wheel. He flicked the headlights on to illuminate the scene. Faith crossed the beam of light and stood in front of the second. Her silhouette stretched across the courtyard.

Dracula-fog-cloud coughed. He heard the wet loose hack of the vampire echo around him. And … inside him. Xander shook his head, trying to forget the weird sensation.

"Form again," said Faith to the cloud, "Take your shape and face this like a man."

"Vampire," called Xander.

"Vampire," amended Faith.

Dracula formed.

His body was covered with tyre tracks. Dusty outlines of wheels on his cloak. And as he stood there, he wobbled a little.

"See," said Faith, "The thing about you is that you're not … how to say .. current."

The vampire flashed a dark look of fury at her.

She brushed it right off. "I bet that when you fought Buffy it was all backflip, hair flick, pointy piece of wood right? Thing about Slayers … the thing I'm surprised you've not learnt in all your years? We're not all the same. And I fight with everything I have at my disposal. I've learnt to not be alone. And I think that's your problem. You are."

Xander coughed. Loudly. There was something … inside him. He coughed and tried to expel it. But it didn't shift.

"Hon, I'm trying to do the whole end of battle speech thing here?"

He coughed again and felt his whole body double up with pain. His fingers pulled away from the wheel and opened the door. His body stepped out. His legs walked him over to the side of Faith. His fist punched her.

And then his legs bent and his body knelt and his voice spoke: "I am ready Master."

Somewhere inside his mind, Xander screamed.

Dracula smiled. "As I always knew you would be."

Faith twisted. Saw her collapsed man on the floor, his mouth wide open. Saw Dracu-fog moving right for him. Saw two and two and made four. "No Sir, no body possession on my watch!" She grasped Xander and pulled his body back towards the cab, glancing backwards at Dracu-fog which just kept coming forward. "Man what I wouldn't give for a bleeding hoover right now."

Faith threw the cab door open and stuffed Xander inside. She grabbed the keys and locked him in, stuffing them in her back pocket. For good measure she ripped the door handles off all four doors, her body moving lightening fast around the vehicle. Boy wasn't moving out of there til she said so. Now he was secure, she could turn her attention to the thing behind her.

"Fuck Fog," she spat, "Form. Now. So I can kick your ass."

Dracu-fog sparked and gathered back into the shape of the Vampire. The two warriors stared at each other. "What is your damn thing with him?" snarled Faith. She was furious. "How dare you!"

"I don't want to kill him," shrugged Dracula. "What I give him is immortal."

"SCREW that! You don't give him anything! You take it away! YOU TAKE IT ALL AWAY!" She felt herself border on tears, remembering how dead Xander had felt to her as she'd flung him in the cab. Just a lump of dead humanity. Dulled. It made her sick. "My GOD you're an IDIOT! You're using him – and that stops RIGHT NOW!"

"You are … soiled with him. Everything about you … it reeks of him. I will not fight you. You are … impure." Dracula turned his back on her. He turned his back on her.

Oh he would regret that.

Her first kicks were to his knees, sharp vicious assaults designed to drop the bastard down. What she did in one shape seemed to affect the other as evidenced by the wheel track currently crossing Dracula's foreheard. So she immobilised the son of the bitch and she did it coldly and as efficiently as she knew how. She was done with the talking, done with the shape-shifting, done with it all. Son of a bitch was going down. Kicked in the knees, followed by a kidney punch or several, block, parry, take the hit move on, a swift knee to his crown jewels, block, headbutt for good measure, block, dodge, sweep kick at his ankles that snapped them like they were twigs, double handed punch to his head, pivot to avoid the fangs that lunged close to her skin -

Xander moaned as he came back to himself. He took stock of his surroundings. Cab. Phone abandoned on the passenger seat. Hands. Wheel. Missing something. Distinct lack of hot woman at his side. Faith. Where was she? He glanced out of the window and saw the duel in front of him. "Crap." Dracula rocketed his fist into the side of Faith's face and the Slayer span away into the gravel, rolling to land on her side, grab a handful of the stones, leap back to her feet and ram them into Dracula's eyes.

He'd not witnessed Faith fight for a long time. The thought that came to his mind was brutal. The other thought he had was that she wasn't doing this alone. He pushed at the door and then stared at the hole where the door handle was. "Huh." He glanced behind him, looking through the shattered remains of the security screen (was it still the same day as that?) and saw a similar state of affairs with the other door. He was trapped. Fated just to watch his girl. Unable to help. No. He couldn't do that. Panic rose inside of him. His life was about standing beside people. He wasn't ready to take a back seat. Pun unintentional.

But then he saw the phone on the passenger seat.

He dove for it and cupped his hand around the screen. "Oh my god she doesn't charge you at all does she." A small shred of green on the battery. Lucky thing he knew the exact number he was dialling.

And thank god it went through.

"What's up?" said the voice at the other end of the phone.

"It's me" said Xander. "Spell me. Stat."


	10. Chapter 10

**10**

She had him. But she didn't know what to do with him. Faith wrapped her arm around Dracula's throat and decided to choke him for a while til she figured it out.

The vampire launched himself backwards and she felt the wind blow out of her as the two of them crashed into the ground. Didn't let go though. "Been doing this for a while," she gritted, grabbing his head with her other arm and planning to decapitate the bastard. Enough. Kill him.

Wait. Make sure he dies and not you. Focus on the fight. Lose yourself in it.

Xander jabbed his elbow into the cab window and cursed as it didn't break and actually, more to the point, felt like it might have just broken his arm. "Shit shit shit." Where the hell was that spell?

The phone rang.

"Take a deep breath," said Willow, "And listen."

"No time." The cab shook as Faith landed on it and then slide heavily off. Dracula rose, stood up as if the relentless assault on him had made no impact whatsoever, and grabbed the girl from the floor and proceeded to ram her head first into the bonnet. "She's dying."

"I need to be there. That's why we've never been able to-"

"You can't get here in time." He paused. Made a decision. "But I am. Do it."

"You sure?" Her voice was worried.

"Yes," he said, hoping his voice was confident and didn't betray the massive panic he had going on right now.

There was a very cool, quiet moment that made Xander feel as if all the air had left the cab. Then, there was a soft glow of white light in his palm. He closed his fingers and felt his best friend inside of him. _I love you. _He didn't know which one of them was talking. Didn't matter. Felt like he could take the world on.

So he unfurled his palm and rested it on the door which promptly opened.

Faith opened her eyes and saw Xander. Glowing. Concussion was cool.

Dracula dropped her and turned to Xander. "So. You give your body to another. I am your Master."

"No," said Xander and he smiled. "And you'll never be again." Because he suddenly saw the guy for what he was. Just a vampire. All he had was a name that made him different. That's all it was. A name. Just a word. And Xander was the master of words.

_Do it _he told Willow.

He started speaking Latin. "Inclusa coarctant eum prohibere relicta re et tene debet haec"

And yes, somebody else was in his body, but this was different. He was still there. The two of them were together and they were beating back the bloody night. It was right. It was on his terms.

Light flooded the courtyard. Pure brilliant bright light. It grabbed Dracula, pulled him away from the two of them and slammed him against the front door of the house. Bands of light errupted and circled the rest of the hous.e

Faith pulled herself up and stumbled towards Xander. "Hey Harry Potter," she said blearily. Blood smeared her face, "How'd ya do that."

Willow smiled inside him. _You got it on. At last. Took your time. _

He grinned back at her. _Shut up. Anything you can do to help her out?_

_ Of course._

He turned to Faith, "Sana eam"

The blood went and she gazed at him with interest as her body came back to normality and the pain stopped screaming inside of her. "Red?"

Xander nodded and walked towards Dracula. The vampire stared wildly at him. "You cannot kill me! I am Immortal!"

"Correct," said Xander and he felt Willow slip away from inside him. Her work was done. "But what we can do is bind you. To that house and to that form. You're not going anywhere. Ever." He smiled. "And that also applies to your magic. No more magic casting outside of those four walls. Ever."

Faith grinned with approval. "Oh good show."

"You _have _been hanging with Giles to long."

"I really want to have sex with you right now."

"I really want to take you up on that offer."

He felt at peace. For the first time in a long time, he felt whole and at peace.

Faith took his hand and the two of them walked past the broken and bashed up cab, back down the avenue of trees and towards humanity.

"So. How you doing? After all,you've just been through the fires of hell."

"That's a Meatloaf song."

"There's a lot of sense in Meat Loaf."

"I might have to reconsider this whole relationship plan."

"Yeah?" She raised a wicked eyebrow as they slammed the gate of Carfax closed beside them. "Nothing I can do to persuade you otherwise?"

"Well, I do think we've got some free time," said Xander, considering the point, "I don't think the gang will miss us for a while yet."

"Red?"

"Oh I got secrets on her that I can spill. She'll hold her tongue."

"So, Mr Harris," replied Faith, as the sun finally started to come up and the watery light of dawn illuminated the road ahead of them. "Any suggestions for what we can do?"

He looked left. Right. And then saw the small coppice of woods at the side of the road. The secluded really kinda romantic woods. "A few," he said, "Might take a few minutes. You okay with that?"

"Oh yeah," she said, and the two of them began to run towards the privacy of the coppice. He was hungry for her. To feel her skin on his skin. To be one.

"A few minutes though? Is that all?"

"For starters," said Xander and the world suddenly seemed to open up in front of him, "Only for starters."


End file.
